


Editorials

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fashion & Couture, Gen, Gossip, Journalism, Witch Weekly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-10
Updated: 2015-04-10
Packaged: 2018-03-22 06:18:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3718270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>MUGGLE CHIC, or neo-humanism and fashion in post-war media, by Pansy Parkinson.</p>
<p><i>Check out our muggle chic essentials page 57-67, with special regards to Persephone Lion's daring Spring 2003 line ! Pansy Parkinson is a fashion and society reporter based in London. When not writing for </i>Witch Weekly<i>, she enjoys drinking cheap wine and reading German historical fiction novels.</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	Editorials

**Author's Note:**

> i have many regrets in my life but this is not one of them

MUGGLE CHIC, or neo-humanism and fashion in post-war media, by Pansy Parkinson

CLOTHING has always been one of the more eloquent forms of expression, for those who know how to read it, and this has especially been true in periods following conflict. Historically, we think back to the tomboy flappers in the wake of World War One, and the whimsically intense femininity after World War Two. Recent years have shown that we are not exempt from this tendency : be it in magazines, advertisments, fashion shows or in the very offices of our Ministry, we can notice a new trend quietly taking root. 

This is hardly surprising, considering the strong pro-muggle and pro-muggleborn sentiments of the end of the decade and the start of the new millenium. What was first born out of necessity, children and young people going to war in the jeans and jumpers that were their last connection to their homes, then became a form of rebellion, a way to aggressively affirm one's convictions, one's affiliations, one's support. Nowadays, it has become a softer, blurred edge, harder to define and seeping into our sartorial norms.

Muggle Chic, a term coined by designer and fashion staple Persephone Lion, has been invading stores, offices, and schoolyards, and so far all we have to hear has been positive ! Where witches would once wear work-robes and modest cloaks, now they have been replaced by cutting-edge blazers and teasingly sheer blouses ; pencil skirts and pumps over day-robes and boots. While muggle fashion has been known to influence wizarding designs in the past, such a widespread phenomenon has not been seen since the fifties, after which the rise of traditionalism and pureblood-centrism in wizarding society provoked a return to old-fashioned ways of dress.

But this is more than just a much-needed breath of fresh air as far as fashion is concerned -- this new style is proof that while wizarding and muggle society were once two distinct worlds, those edges have been blurred in the post-war reconstruction effort. This closing of the gap between magical and non-magical has been aided by the rising icons in the new Ministry and media : on the political level we have Auror Harry Potter's casual slacks and dress shirts, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's Hermione Granger's professional pantsuits. Meanwhile muggleborn models Romilda Vane, Lisa Turpin and Sally-Anne Perks have taken the fashion world by storm with their photoshoots, magazine spreads, and fashion shows where they showcase both their muggle and magical heritages in all their glamour. Chances have it that even you, reading this very article, have already purchased – or have been thinking about getting! – that stylish scarf, that perfect peplum skirt, or that beautiful blazer. You definitely have the privilege of choice, as stores like Madam Malkin's, Thread, and The Witch & the Wardrobe have all started stocking basics to get your muggle wardrobe started. 

This reporter's answer ? Is go for it ! You'll look fresh off the runway, and you'll be making wizarding England a better place for it, to boot. What more could a witch ask for? 

_Check out our muggle chic essentials page 57-67, with special regards to Persephone Lion's daring Spring 2003 line ! Pansy Parkinson is a fashion and society reporter based in London. When not writing for_ Witch Weekly _, she enjoys drinking cheap wine and reading German historical fiction novels._


End file.
